Lesser kestrel
Lesser kestrel | |
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Male | |
Female | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Falconiformes |
Family: | Falconidae |
Genus: | Falco |
Species: | F. naumanni
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Binomial name | |
Falco naumanni Fleischer, 1818
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Range of F. naumanni Breeding range Year-round range Wintering range
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The lesser kestrel (Falco naumanni) is a small
Description
It is a small bird of prey, 27–33 cm (11–13 in) in length with a 63–72 cm (25–28 in) wingspan. It looks very much like the larger common kestrel but has proportionally shorter wings and tail. It shares a brown back and barred grey underparts with the larger species. The male has a grey head and tail like male common kestrels, but lacks the dark spotting on the back, the black malar stripe, and has grey patches in the wings.
The female and young birds are slightly paler than their relative, but are so similar that call and structure are better guides than plumage. The call is a diagnostic harsh chay-chay-chay, unlike the common kestrel's kee-kee-kee. Neither sex has dark talons as is usual in falcons; those of this species are a peculiar whitish-horn color. This, however, is only conspicuous when birds are seen at very close range, e.g. in captivity.
Taxonomy
Despite its outward similarity, this species appears not to be closely related to the common kestrel. In fact,
Ecology
The lesser kestrel is, as the name implies, a smaller and more delicate bird than the common kestrel, and it is entirely
The lesser kestrel eats insects, but also small birds, reptiles and rodents (especially mice),[6] which are often taken on the ground. It nests colonially on buildings, cliffs, or in tree holes, laying up to 3–6 eggs. No nest structure is built, which is typical for falcons. On their wintering grounds in West Africa, lesser kestrels favor a "latitude belt"[7] through Senegal where locusts and grasshoppers are plentiful. Surveys of lesser kestrels wintering in January 2007 by the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux revealed them roosting communally. A roost in Senegal discovered during one of the surveys held 28,600 birds, together with 16,000 scissor-tailed kites Chelictinia riocourii.[8]
It is widespread and plentiful on a global scale, and the
Gallery
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Lesser Kestrel from Fujeirah
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Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden
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Lesser kestrel with insect. Notice yellow talons - an easy way to distinguish between lesser and common kestrel
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Male lesser kestrel feeding chicks
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Chicks of the lesser kestrel
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Male lesser kestrel feeding his chicks with Laudakia stellio, Negev desert, Israel
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Falco naumanni -MHNT
References
- ^ . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ MOURAD AMARI, HICHEM AZAFZAF (2001). Tunisia in Important Bird Areas in Africa and Associated Islands: Priority Sites for Conservation, Fishpool, L. D. C. and Evans, M. I., eds (PDF). Cambridge: Pisces Publications, Birdlife International. p. 961.
- ISBN 978-0199206872.
- ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- PMID 12414309.
- ^ McDonnell, K. (2000). ""Falco naumanni" (On-line)". animaldiversity.org. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
- ^ Graham, Rex (17 September 2013). "Tracking by satellite solves bird migration riddles".
- ^ "BirdLife: Surveys Reveal Raptor 'Super-Roost'". 26 April 2007.
- ^ "Species factsheet: Falco naumanni". BirdLife International. 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
External links
- Lesser kestrel species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
- Ageing and sexing (PDF; 3.5 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze
- "Falco naumanni". Avibase.
- "Lesser kestrel media". Internet Bird Collection.
- Lesser kestrel photo gallery at VIREO (Drexel University)
- Audio recordings of Lesser kestrel on Xeno-canto.